ASEAN-US Talk Environmentally-Friendly Trade

ASEAN-US Talk Environmentally-Friendly Trade

SIngapore, 29 March 2011

Ways to tackle complex linkages between promoting trade and protecting the environment took spotlight at the first ASEAN-US Trade and Environment Forum held Thursday in Jakarta. Attended by more than 70 participants from ASEAN and the US, the Forum acknowledges the importance of promoting international efforts to achieve shared environmental objectives, as well as the need to pursue trade and environment policies that are mutually supportive.

Green growth policies that influence trade particularly were emphasised at the forum. “The trade and environment sectors are interconnected and must be considered as such when formulating policies in ASEAN,” said Mr Gusmardi Bustami, Chairman of the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM).

Meanwhile, the US representatives shared their experience in approaching the environment as a trade issue and in managing interagency coordination on trade and environment matters.

The Forum was organised by the ASEAN Secretariat and the United States Government-funded ASEAN-US Technical Assistance and Training Facility.